The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or she

claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at least

someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other marks of

legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what you want to

learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about the

course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or she

claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at least

someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other marks of

legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what you want to

learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about the

course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or she

claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at least

someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other marks of

legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what you want to

learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about the

course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or she

claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get published,

is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at least someone with

real-life experience inThe Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or she

claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at least

someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other marks of

legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what you want to

learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about the

course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or

she claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at

least someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other

marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what

you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about

the course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or

she claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at

least someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other

marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what

you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about

the course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or

she claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at

least someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other

marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what

you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about

the course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or

she claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at

least someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other

marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what

you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about

the course? Don’t read just the

The Internet these days is full of cat videos, bad lip

readings and hilarious memes. All good things, of course. But, believe it

or not, there’s some useful stuff there, too. And that proposes a

legitimate opportunity for the smart entrepreneur.

Related: This Is Bill and Melinda Gates' Prediction for the Future of

Online Education

When I set out to start my own  online course , I didn’t know much about

education. All I knew was that I wanted to deliver a quality learning

experience to readers that went beyond the scope of my blog. That was

about it. 

Then, I heard entrepreneur Ramit Sethi say in an interview that before

you can charge a certain amount for an information product, you had

better be willing to pay that much yourself. In other words, he was

saying, “Don’t charge $2,000 for a course until you spend $2,000 and

see what a $2,000 product looks like.”

So, I took that advice. I started signing up for online courses, and, boy,

did I learn some things.

Options for Education

Education on the Internet has changed, mostly for the better. This is not

like what I experienced in college, when a particular professor I had

would give out a long, complicated URL to remember. And it’s not like

those foreign language correspondence classes you may have taken in

high school to get around the fact that no one in your small town taught

Latin. At least that was the case in my farm town of 1,100 people.

So, yes, things have changed -- big time. Now, an online course can be

comparable to a real-life educational experience. In fact, sometimes it

can be even better.

Let’s say you didn’t go to college, or maybe like a lot of people you got a

degree in one field of study and then figured out that what you actually

wanted to do was something different. What, now? you probably asked

yourself. In the past, you had two options: 

Option 1: Go back to school and get your degree. 

Option 2: Go the Good Will Hunting route and teach yourself by reading

a lot of books.

Number one is the standard decision for many middle-class people who

don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or else realize that

college has not prepared them for the real world. Going back to school is

not necessarily a bad choice, but if college didn’t work for you in the first

place, why return to the institution that failed you? Not to mention that it’s

expensive and doesn’t guarantee you success in the marketplace. 

Number two is just simply hard. Nor does it work for those of us who

need a teacher, someone to walk us through the process -- and that

means most of us.

So, what is there left to do? Until a few years ago, nothing.

Related:  LinkedIn Inks $1.5 Billion Deal for Online Education

Company Lynda

Time to get serious about online courses

Today, we have a third option: the Internet. The Web is exploding with

legitimate online education opportunities that are literally changing

people’s lives. But, you may wonder, how can I trust this whole Internet

thing -- with all its cat videos and memes? Good question. I was

skeptical, too, until I finally understood why online courses work.

Here are five reasons why you should now take online education more

seriously:

1. Online courses are less expensive. 

For a fraction of the cost, you can now get a university-level learning

experience taught by an industry expert. That is, you can if you take

the right kind of classes (more about that below).

2. Online courses are results-oriented. 

Since you’re likely giving money to someone you’ve never met, online

educators are motivated to help you get the results you want (instead of

simply teaching dry theory). Their reputations are on the line (literally),

after all.

3. Technology makes the experience of an online course more exciting. 

Instead of attending a couple of 45-minute lectures per week, you'll now

have worksheets, discussion forums and interactive presentation at your

fingertips.

4. The classrooms are cooler. 

You no longer have to grab a sack lunch and spend a half-day at your

local community college, sitting in a cold, dimly lit room. You can attend

class right in your living room -- whenever you want.

5. You get to keep the course. 

This might be my favorite reason for online education. In contrast to

traditional education, where the only keepsakes you get are the

overpriced textbook and a three-ring notebook full of illegible scribbles,

many online courses let you keep a lot of the course material (including

the lessons).

If you haven’t considered taking an online course, then, you should. But,

and this is important, don’t sign up for just any class that comes along.

There are a lot of swindlers out there (who probably made those cat

videos -- no offense intended, of course, to Grumpy Cat).

Here's what to look for in a good online course:

Solid credentials. Has the teacher achieved the expertise he or

she claims? In other words, if you’re taking a course on how to get

published, is a published author teaching it? Or is the teacher at

least someone with real-life experience in that industry? If other

marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are needed for what

you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those, too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about

the course? Don’t read just the

that industry? If other marks of legitimacy (i.e., licenses and such) are

needed for what you want to learn, make sure the instructor has those,

too.

Trustworthy testimonials. What do previous students say about the

course? Don’t read just the